Roasted Sweet Potato and Wild Rice Salad with Chili Lime Vinaigrette

Well, it was that time of the week again. Time to boldly take our tastebuds where none had dared go before. In case you've missed any of my other blog posts, let me catch you up:

Our family is three people: my husband, my 23-year-old sister, and myself. My sister is gluten-free and rather picky, especially when it comes to vegetables or anything even remotely spicy. My husband and I are pescetarian (mostly vegetarian due to seafood prices steadily rising) but try to eat gluten-free as much as possible; however, my husband is extremely picky with certain flavors/foods/combinations. He's not a huge fan of tofu, hates tomatoes, cilantro, and anything too "out there." Add to that a strict food budget, ridiculous schedules that get at least two of us home by 8 o'clock every night, and desperation to show creativity in the kitchen, and you've got a pretty crazy-looking menu plan for us every week.

This week, I decided to take my life in my hands and try a Pinterest-inspired recipe of a roasted sweet potato and wild rice salad in a homemade vinaigrette dressing. Daring? Absolutely. But it sounded amazing if I could pull it off.

Ingredients

*2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

*2 T olive oil (I always use extra virgin, first cold press)

*1/4 t ground cumin

*1/4 t chili powder

*3/4 cup uncooked wild rice

*1 carrot, peeled and grated

*Roughly 6-8 mini bell peppers, red, orange, and yellow, thinly sliced

*1/4 cup red onion, diced

*1/4 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped (I left these out for obvious reasons)

Dressing

*1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

*2 T white wine vinegar

*2 t lime juice (about 1 fresh lime)

*1 t chili powder

*2 t honey (maple syrup will work too, if you're trying to make this vegan)

*1 clove garlic, minced

*1/4 t salt

1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss sweet potato in olive oil, ground cumin, and chili powder. Arrange on a cookie sheet. 

2.) Bake for 15 minutes, flip (or just stir), and continue to bake for another 10-15 minutes until a fork inserted into sweet potatoes comes out easily. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. 

3.)  Cook rice according to package directions. You should end up with roughly 2 cups of cooked rice. Allow to cool completely before assembling salad. (This is actually optional. The original recipe called for allowing it to cool, but we constructed it warm, and it was delicious!) 

4.) Combine sweet potato, wild rice, and remaining salad ingredients. 

5.) Whisk vinaigrette ingredients and toss salad thoroughly. (We served our dressing on the side to avoid it soaking in to the leftovers). 

Serves 6-8. Vegetarian, gluten-free, and perfect for picky family members! Let me know what you think! 

Spicy Kale & Black Bean Quinoa Salad

Not gonna lie: I had my doubts about this one. First off, it has kale in it. That veggie can bit a hit or miss in this household - usually a miss because I end up overcooking it and bringing out some horribly bitter side never experienced by taste buds known to man. Secondly, the dressing calls for cilantro, which my husband detests more than anything. But we all know what happens when you take an ingredient out of a recipe you've never tried before: to paraphrase "Goonies": "Bad things, Mikey, bad things!" I decided to take my life even further in my hands by cooking the kale and onion instead of adding it raw to the salad bowl as suggested in the original recipe. Lastly, my hubby is usually a little wary of recipes that are warm salads. Add to that a vegan, gluten free, oil free meal, it's gotta either be amazing or really bad. Lucky for us, this is one of our new favorites!

Spicy Kale and Black Bean Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

*1 cup quinoa, uncooked

*6 cups kale, de-stemmed

*1/2 red onion, chopped

*1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

*1 cup corn

Dressing Ingredients

*1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (I left this out, and it was perfectly fine if you also can't stand it)

*2 cloves garlic, minced

*1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (about 2 limes)

*1/4 cup hot sauce of your choice (I used the chili garlic sauce from the Asian foods aisle)

*1/4 cup water

*1 t. maple syrup (I know! I did a double-take too! But it's the perfect amount of sweetness to cut the acidity of the limes)

*1/2 t. cumin

*Sea salt and pepper, to taste

In a medium sized pot, combine 2 cups of water with 1 cup of quinoa and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy. 

In a large salad bowl, combine kale and onion. (If you'd like it cooked like I did, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add about 1 T. of olive oil. Add kale and onion. Cook down. Add 1 clove of garlic - it won't be "oil free" any more, but we thought cooking the kale absolutely made this dish!) 

Once the quinoa is done cooking, add in the black beans and corn. Mix. 

Prepare the dressing. Serve in a bowl alongside salad so everyone can drizzle the perfect amount over their portion. Enjoy! 

Stores well in the fridge for up to 2 days. Sorry my photos aren't the best today - I'm having some photo editing software issues. Let me know what you think! 

Honey Sriracha Tofu with Rice and Sauteed Bok Choy

So, it was time to experiment with another recipe, and tofu can be kind of a hit-or-miss in this household. My husband is slightly picky about how he likes tofu prepared, so I went into this one with a bit of fear and trembling. My sister, who lives with us, is not a fan of spicy things or new recipes in general, so sriracha and bok choy were both huge steps outside of her comfort zone. Talk about pressure! However, it was a great success, and we'll definitely be making it again!

Honey Sriracha Tofu with Steamed Rice and Sauteed Bok Choy

Ingredients

*4 T olive oil (2 T for tofu & 2 T for bok choy)

*3 garlic cloves, finely chopped (1 T for tofu & 2 T for bok choy)

*1 block extra firm tofu

*2 T sriracha sauce

*1 T soy sauce

*1 1/2 T honey

*1 T rice vinegar

*Corn starch for dusting tofu (about 2 T)

*2 t sesame oil (1 t for tofu & 1 t for bok choy)

*1 T sesame seeds

*1 scallion, finely chopped (optional)

*1 large bunch bok choy

*1/2 a large sweet onion, chopped

Directions

1) Prepare 3 cups white Jasmine rice in rice cooker. Set aside. 

2) Whisk sriracha, soy sauce, honey, and rice vinegar in a bowl and set aside. 

3) Drain tofu and wrap in a paper towel to remove excess water. (I did this twice, just to make sure it was dry). 

4) Dust tofu with corn starch until all sides are coated.

5) Meanwhile, wash bok choy & cut off ends. This was my first time cooking with bok choy, so I wasn't 100% sure what to expect. It's basically like cooking with leafy celery. I cut off about 1/3 of the ends because it was really woody and chewy otherwise. Split down the middle for more even and quicker cooking. 

6) Heat olive oil in saute pan over medium heat. Saute bok choy until tender and slightly browned (about 5 minutes). Add chopped onion. Cook till translucent. Lastly, add the 2 minced garlic cloves and cook until aromatic. 

7) In a another large pan over medium heat, heat oil and garlic and fry for about 30 seconds. Add tofu and fry until all sides are slightly golden (about 5 minutes). 

8) Turn off heat, and add sesame oil and seeds. Stir to evenly coat. Top with scallions, if desired. Serve over steamed rice. 

If you're looking for a bit more protein, my husband suggested some sauteed meatless chicken (for us crazy vegetarians) in the honey sriracha sauce. Let me know how yours turns out! Enjoy! 

Slow Cooker Red Beans & Rice

Slow cooker meals save my life in the middle of the week - between my husband's and my full-time jobs, running a jiu jitsu school part-time, being vegetarian, and having my gluten-free sister living with us, meal times can get...interesting, to say the least. So when I find something that's easy, cooks while I'm at wok all day, flavorful, vegetarian, AND gluten free? I'm in seventh heaven!

As always, I ended up forgetting that I didn't have certain spices at home when I went grocery shopping this week, so I had to...*drumroll*...IMPROVISE! That's always a scary thing for this by-the-recipe chef, but I must say, I was quite pleased with the results. Reprinted below is the recipe as I found it on (where else?) Pinterest, but I've added my notes on improvisations to the side. Dish it up & let me know what you think!

Vegetarian & Gluten-Free Slow Cooker Red Beans & Rice

Ingredients:

*2 15 oz. cans red kidney beans, drained

*1 cup finely chopped onion

*1 cup chopped green pepper

*1 cup chopped celery

*2 tsp. dried thyme

*3 cloves garlic, minced (I ended up using garlic powder because I didn't feel like chopping garlic at 6:30 a.m. - a few tsp. did the trick)

*2 1/3 cups vegetable broth 

*1 bay leaf (I omitted this - hate the things)

*1 tsp. smoked paprika

*1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (These last two were what I realized I was out of this morning - I improvised with some New Orleans Cajun spice seasoning I had in the cupboard. Basic same flavor!)

*1 cup rice 

Directions:

1) Place all ingredients except rice in the slow cooker and cook on LO for 4-5 hours.

2) Stir in rice and a pinch of salt and pepper, and increase temperature to HI for 1-2 hours or until rice is tender. 

Because the celery and pepper lose their colors while cooking, it looks pretty bland when you serve it - try spicing it up with a few sprigs of parsley and a dollop of sour cream. Enjoy! 

Slow Cooker Indian Lentil Stew

So...a lot has happened since my last food blog. I can't believe it's been over a year! The biggest change my husband & I have made in our diets is we decided to go pescatarian (no chicken, pork, beef) two years ago. Needless to say, that has made new recipes...challenging. It's hard to find exciting, tasty, healthy dishes that fit the pescatarian lifestyle. However, thank the good Lord for Pinterest! It has been my saving grace, and I'm going to try and get better about sharing new dishes (and my takes on them) on this blog. So here we go!

Slow Cooker Indian Lentil Stew

Ingredients:

*3 c red lentils

*3 1/2 c crushed tomatoes

*6 c vegetable broth

*1 white onion

*2 cloves garlic

*3 Serrano chili - I used a sprinkle of red pepper flakes

*1 Tbsp. Creole seasoning

*1 Tbsp. garlic powder

*1 Tbsp. onion powder

*1/2 Tbsp. black pepper

*1/2 Tbsp. curry powder

*1/2 Tbsp. paprika

*1/2 Tbsp. chili powder

*1/2 Tbsp. garam masala powder

*1/2 Tbsp. ginger powder

*2 Tbsp. cilantro (garnish) - I actually used a sprinkle of parsley flakes as my husband absolutely detests cilantro! 

Combine all ingredients in crockpot and cook on high for 5 hours. I served with a dollop of sour cream to add a creamy texture to the dish and cut the acidity of the crushed tomatoes. It's definitely one of our new favorites! Tasty & healthy!

 

Let me know what you think! 

Valentine's Day Extravaganza

What better way to celebrate Valentine's Day than with three dishes I had never made before in my life? Nothing says, "I love you, honey," like the possibility of food poisoning. Thankfully, these dishes weren't just a hit; they were a runaway smash, and most will become a staple on our menus from now on. I forgot to take a picture of each dish as I finished it, so crazed was my mania to create a perfect Valentine's Day dinner for Jon, so a few Google images will have to suffice this time around...



Salad Course: Pear & Blue Cheese Salad with a Cider Vinegar Dressing
Ingredients:

• Chopped romaine lettuce
• 1 bosce pear, thinly sliced
• Sprinkling of blue cheese depending on how much you like it
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp. cider vinegar  
• 1/4 tsp. Dijon mustard
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped  

Combine the first four ingredients  in a salad bowl and toss. Combine the last 5 ingredients and mix well. Drizzle over salad and toss. (Don't you just love two-step courses?) 


Entree: Pecan-Crusted Salmon with Remoulade Sauce
Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. fresh chopped basil leaves
• 1 1/2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• Dash of pepper
• 2 oz. white cooking wine
• 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 c. coarsely chopped pecans
• 2 salmon filets
• 1/3 c. chopped green onions
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 c. mayo
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. To prepare remoulade sauce, combine green onions, minced garlic, mayo, olive oil, lemon juice, and Dijon mustard in a food processor & pulse till smooth. Put in the fridge to chill until ready to serve. 
3. For salmon, combine basil, Dijon mustard, salt, pepper, cooking wine, and lemon juice in a mixing bowl. Rub salmon filets with basil mixture. 
4. Melt butter in microwave and stir in chopped pecans. 
5. Place salmon in baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with pecan mixture. Lightly dust tops of fish with cooking spray to get them a nice toasty, golden brown. 
6. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until fish is thoroughly cooked. 

 

Dessert: Creme Brulee 
Ingredients:

• 1 vanilla bean
• 2 c. heavy whipping cream
• 2 c. half-n-half
• 8 egg yolks
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt

1. Halve the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with a paring knife. 
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
3. Bring cream, half-n-half, vanilla seeds, and pod to simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. 
4. Reduce heat to low and simmer, 10-15 minutes. 
5. Discard vanilla pod. Remove cream mixture from heat, and cool slightly. Meanwhile, bring kettle of water to boil. 
6. Whisk egg yolks, sugar, and salt in a large bowl until sugar dissolves and mixture is pale yellow and thick. 
7. Pour in the cream mixture, whisking constantly. Skim any foam or bubbles off surface. 
8. Pour into ramekins. Arrange in a roasting pan and divide custard among them. Pour hot water into base of roasting pan. 
9. Bake on middle rack, 40-45 minutes. 
10. Chill, uncovered, 2 hours or up to 1 day. 
11. About 30 minutes before serving, sprinkle sugar over each custard, and broil until crispy (poor man's version of using a brulee torch). 
12. Refrigerate 30 minutes. Serve cold.  

And that's all there is to it! Happy Valentine's Day!  

Not Just Another Food Blog

 

In today's post-Julie & Julia world, I understand if a food blog comes under immediate suspicion. A food blog is synonymous with wanting a movie or book deal or being a guest judge on Iron Chef America at the very least. I don't know how many blogs sprouted up overnight after Julie & Julia was released, but I'm willing to bet it was a large percentage.  (And just to be clear, I am a huge fan of the movie - I own it, watch it monthly, and went out and bought a copy of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking right after I first saw it in theaters). However, fame is not the goal of this blog (though if anyone would like to talk to me about it, of course, I'm always available for lunch).

But I digress...

I decided to start a food blog for various reasons, the first of which is simple: I love food. I love to eat it, look at it, smell it, make it, and give it away. My husband, (who, thank God, also loves to cook), & I spend much of our leisure time finding exciting new ingredients, watching Food Network, giving our friends cooking tips, creating fun dishes, and eating out at the local treasure troves we find. Because it has become difficult to put entire recipes for amazing dishes as my Facebook status, I decided having a centralized place to store great recipes and tips was a must for friends and friends-yet-to-be-made. My other reason for creating this blog is that since we live in a small rural area, fantastic restaurants are not a dime a dozen. They struggle in this fast food wasteland, and I want to support local businesses who deserve wannabe foodie support. So I would like this blog to be a sort of hybrid - a place where I can share recipes & tips and a place where Jon & I can give reviews of the best restaurants and best dishes to try in our lovely little northeast Georgia getaway.

So grab a glass of wine, and let's get started! I hope you came hungry!